171. WinDirStatwindirstat.infoFree
Need to know how much space on your disk is in use, and what's using it? Windows Directory Statistics (WinDirStat) eliminates the guesswork, providing multiple viewsincluding some graphically beautiful color-coded viewsthat spell it out for you.

172. Auslogics System Informationwww.auslogics.com/en/software/system-information15-day free trial, then $19.95
Want information about your PC with you when you're ready to buy an upgrade? This utility generates a full report on systems running Windows 2000 through Windows 7, whether 32- or 64-bit, which you can read on-screen or print to take on your shopping trip.

173. Disk Usage Analyzerwww.extensoft.com/?p=free_disk_analyzerFree
This program does one thing: It creates a list of all the files on your hard disks and tells you which are taking up the most room. Put it to use when you're running out of disk space, to quickly determine what should get tossed or at least moved to a permanent berth on a backup drive.

174. FreeMeterwww.tiler.com/freemeter/Free; Professional edition, $22.95
Your performance monitor shouldn't impact performance. FreeMeter's 888K free version fills the bill, looking at drive space, CPU usage, memory usage, system up time, and five more stats; the pro version has 19 different monitors.

175. Kiwi application monitorwww.drinkprog.com/kiwi/Free
Time for a better-looking process and application monitor! Select a process from the Kiwi monitor to get more information, or run the utility in the background to automate tasks and alerts.

176. Process Explorertechnet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896653.aspxFree
This extra from Microsoft is a major step up from Windows' built-in Task Manager, especially for power users. Rather than just show processes alone, it also displays handles or DLLs in use by that process. Use the search to find problem areas, or skip out to Google and look up what a listed process does. Once downloaded it's fully portable, or you can run it right from the Web.

177. ProcessScannerwww.processlibrary.com/processscanFree
This utility from Uniblue scans processes on a PC and compares them to its online database. You get back a report in your Web browser spelling out exactly what you've got running, with details no other process scanner can match.

178. Runscannerwww.runscanner.netFree
Runscanner calls itself a "startup and hijack analyzer," meaning it not only checks everything running on your system but also tells you what processes could be problems. Expert mode is for those willing to do some Windows surgery. Users of Beginner mode can submit a report log to an expert and get back a file that Runscanner uses to perform fixes.

179. SpaceSnifferwww.uderzo.it/main_products/space_sniffer/Free (donationware)
Get a graphical representation of every file on your computer (called a treemap) delineated by boxes that are big for big files, small for smaller files. You can decrease the number of boxes you see if the interface becomes overwhelming. Portable and ready for use on your USB flash drive.

180. SpeedFanwww.almico.com/speedfan.phpFree
Check under the hood of your PC with SpeedFan. It monitors data points you may not even realize are important, from the temperatures of your hard disks to the speed of the fans that keep everything from overheating.

181. SpyMe Toolswww.lcibrossolutions.com/spyme_tools.htmFree
Sometimes things happen to the Windows Registry that shouldn'tsuch as changes made by malware. SpyMe outputs a copy of the Registry from before and after a change, so you can restore the older version if SpyMe detects something amiss. It'll also make Registry backups.

182. System Information for Windowswww.gtopala.comFree; Technician's version, $69
The fully portable SIWit could even run from an old-school floppy diskwill spy inside your PC and tell you things you didn't know about your own computer, including passwords from your browser; product keys and licenses; and the kind of motherboard, CPU, drives, and RAM you're using. And that's just the beginning. It works with Windows 7, and all the way back to Windows 98.

183. Xinorbisfreshney.org/xinorbisFree
You can analyze one folder, one drive, or manyeven network drivesin a single report. What you get is graphs galore, all of which can be saved for report comparison at a later date.

Eric narrowly averted a career in food service when he began in tech publishing at Ziff-Davis over 20 years ago. He was on the founding staff of Windows Sources, FamilyPC, and Access Internet Magazine (all defunct, and it's not his fault). He's the author of two novels, BETA TEST ("an unusually lighthearted apocalyptic tale"--Publishers' Weekly) and KALI: THE GHOSTING OF SEPULCHER BAY. He works from his home in Ithaca, NY.
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